


Four Seasons

by PhantomTraveler



Series: Long Enough [4]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Brother Banter, Gen, Schmoop, reckless use of an OFC, tom foolery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-21
Updated: 2016-11-21
Packaged: 2018-09-01 08:59:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8617984
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhantomTraveler/pseuds/PhantomTraveler
Summary: A snap shot into the three hunters domestic lives spanning over a full year.





	

The Four Seasons

**Spring**

            Sam was sitting at the kitchen table drinking his coffee and scanning the local paper for any potential hunts, Dean was standing at the stove frying eggs for breakfast. As KT walked into the kitchen Dean turned to ask her how she wanted her eggs when he suddenly doubled over laughing, Sam looked up from his newspaper confused when he caught site of KT he let out a snort and quickly hid back behind the paper. KT turned and poured herself a cup of coffee grumbling at the antics of the Winchesters,

“ _Shut up both of you_.”

Dean finally straightened back up, but he was unsuccessful at holding in a fit of giggles as he address the grumpy hunter,

“ _Did you lose a fight with a weed whacker or something_?”

KT glared at Dean as she sat down at the table, she tried to run a hand through her hair but was unsuccessful, the normally tamed locks were in a disarray, they were piled on top of her head and tangled in a hopeless mess.

“ _It was a long night alright_?”

Dean placed a plate of eggs, bacon and toast in front of Sam and KT, he put his own plate down and sat next to KT. The three hunters ate in silence for a while, KT stopped chewing, she could feel Dean’s eyes boring into the side of her head, she turned to glare at him and found him frozen with his arm halfway to her head with a piece of toast in his hand.

“ _What the hell are you doing_?”

Now that he was caught Dean began to slowly inch the toast closer to her hair,

“ _I’m worried there may be a small mammal living in there, I figured if I got this toast close enough a little claw would pop out and grab it_.”

KT grabbed the toast from Deans hand and took a savage bite, with her mouth full of toast she spoke,

“ _There are no animals in there to grab you, but if you go near my head again I will throw you onto the ground_.”

Sam lowered the newspaper and cleared his throat, KT eyed his face and sat forward concerned,

“ _Did you find a hunt_?”

Sam’s face looked grave,

“ _No, there is no unnatural activity anywhere near here today_.”

KT sat back in her chair and laughed,

“ _Buck up Sam I promise I wont let you die today_.”

Sam let out a small shiver,

“ _You can’t promise that, those creatures are unpredictable_.”

KT got up and poured herself a second cup of coffee,

“ _Sam it will be fine, you both agreed to come with me. I worked there for years, in fact I ran the place for a while and I had a perfect safety record. Plus you both will be wearing helmets to protect what brain cells you have left_.”

Dean smirked through a mouthful of bacon,

“ _Is the reason you’re not going to wear a helmet because it would make your hair angry_?”

KT sighed,

“ _My hair is not sentient Dean_.”

The three hunters finished their breakfast quietly, eventually KT stood up and put her plate in the sink,

“ _Alright boys, I’m going to go get ready, you put on your big boy pants and man up because we are having fun today whether you want to or not_.”

Sam put his head down on the kitchen table and sighed, Dean took the opportunity to steal the last piece of bacon off of his pate.

            The discussion had come up a few weeks before, the three hunters were sitting on the couch exchanging childhood stories and the fact that neither Winchester had ever really ridden a horse came out. KT was appalled, and vowed that she would get the Winchesters on horses before the end of the month. Neither boy argued, they were both pleasantly buzzed at the time and figured KT was at the level of tipsy that she wouldn’t really remember her vow. But the next day KT came in with a grin on her face, she had called in a favor from her old boss, she got access to the barn, the horses and the trails and could take them out on a trail ride. As the day drew closer Sam tried everything to get out of the event but KT always had an answer to his excuses.

“ _I’m too big, I’ll crush the horse.”_

_“Do you really think I don’t have a couple draft horses in mind for you?”_

_“We don’t know how, this is dangerous.”_

_“Most people going on a trail ride have never ridden a horse and every trail I took out came back safely, plus I used to teach four year olds, I know you and Dean are giant children but I have faith in you_.”

Sam’s last-ditch effort of finding a hunt the day of had failed, so that is how the Winchester’s found themselves standing in a barn with a bunch of horses. KT walked down the aisle, she seemed to greet each and every horse by name, occasionally she would stop at one horse and give a long stare before moving on, eventually she clapped her hands together and walked off to the tack room. A few short minutes later and she had her three selected horses ready to go. KT brought a stalky bay gelding out of the barn and motioned for Dean to get up on the mount up block. As she tightened the girth so the saddle would not slip she began telling Dean about his chosen steed.

“ _This is Baja, he’s a quarter horse, they’re known for their reliability and steady nature. He’s a great first time horse, but he also has a little extra spunk in him that makes him exciting_.”

KT led the horse up to the block and held the stirrup out for Dean to put his foot in. He placed his foot in the stirrup and swung his leg over the horse. He sat back on the saddle and tried to get a proper equilibrium. KT walked around and started fussing with the stirrups setting them to fit his leg comfortably. When she was satisfied she handed Dean the reins,

“ _Gentle tub to the left moves him left, gentle tug to the right makes him go right, pull back to stop, and rest your hand on his neck with a loose rein to let him go. Squeeze with your thighs to make him move if he stops_.”

Dean nodded, he reached out and patted the horse on the neck, the horse let out a small puff of air which made Dean jump slight, KT shook her head and gave the horse a kiss on the nose before heading back to the barn. A few moments later she emerged with a very tall palomino horse with white spots throughout his coat. Sam was already standing on the block waiting for her, she pulled the horse up close to him and spoke,

“ _This is Omelet, he’s an appaloosa, sometimes people think they can be a little flighty but Omelet is as steady as they come, I’ve used him a ton of times with scared little kids on the trails, but he’s sasquatch sized so he’s perfect for you_.”

The horse gave a small whinny and KT nuzzled her forehead against his, she pulled away and smiled, holding the stirrup out for Sam. Sam took a deep breath and placed his food in the stirrup, swinging his leg over. Nothing happened for a moment, finally KT decided Sam had had enough time to adjust,

“ _You know, you need to open your eyes, I’d hate for you to walk under a low hanging branch and lose your head_.”

Sam opened his eyes, and let out a shaky breath. KT patted his leg,

“ _You good_?”

Sam nodded. KT headed back into the barn, when she returned she had a black cowboy hat on her head and she was leading a grey horse out of the barn, he was shorter then the horses she had brought out for the boys but the horse had the longest and most beautiful wavy mane and tail. KT walked the horse over to the mount up block and swung her leg on. The horse seemed to let out a dissatisfied huff, KT patted his neck and when he remained still she leaned forward and wrapped her hands around his neck, effectively hugging the horse, the horse let out a soft nicker and KT sat back up smiling.

“ _Boys this is Apollo, he’s been my trusty lead horse for years. Don’t mind his huffing he just hates the mount up block, I usually just swing up from the ground but I doubt that’s something I can do anymore_.”

Dean grinned,

“ _Hey Sammy, I think he’s got better locks then you_.”

KT let out a bark of a laugh,

“ _You know I used to braid his mane all the time, he usually favored a running stallion braid…I bet you’d look great with that style Sam_.”

Sam gave a look, which Dean often described as bitch face #4, but it was quickly wiped off his face when KT urged her horse forward and Sam’s made quick work of following her.

“ _I thought you said I had to tell him to move forward_.”

KT gave a small smirk,

“ _Usually yes, but like I said I use Omelet a lot for scared kids, I’ve got him trained to follow me wherever I go_.”

Sam gripped the horse’s mane with his hand,

“ _I’m not sure if that makes me feel better or worse_.”

KT gave a small laugh and urged her horse on, the boys followed her as they made their way into the woods and up the side of the mountain. They had ridden for about half an hour and Sam was finally starting to relax, KT suddenly stopped, if Sam had been in charge of the steering and not Omelet they surly would have rammed right into her but Omelet was a much better driver then Sam and he stopped a few paces from KT,

“ _What’s up, why are we stopping_?”

KT looked over her shoulder, the smile on her face was a mile wide.

“ _Take a look out there_.”

KT motioned to the side, Sam and Dean had been concentrating so hard on staying on the horses they hadn’t noticed they had stopped climbing the mountain and were now crossing the top of it. When they looked out to the side they had a view of the entire valley below. They were met with an endless view of trees, it was green as far as the eye could see, except for one large creek which snaked its way through the valley. Dean let out a low whistle,

“ _That’s quite the view_.”

KT nodded, she readjusted her hat and turned to grin at the men behind her.

“ _Now we just need to make our way to our picnic spot_ ”

Sam furrowed his brow,

“ _We’re having a picnic_?”

KT raised an eyebrow,

“ _You can’t tell me you’re not hungry_?”

“ _Yeah, I guess you’re right, so where’s this spot_.”

KT grinned again and pointed down into the valley,

“ _You see that creek? That’s where we are going_.”

KT started their forward movement again, a few minutes later Dean’s stomach grumbled,

“ _How much longer until we get there, I’m starving.”_

_“You aren’t going to waste away it’s about forty minutes away.”_

_“Oh man_ ”

Dean’s voice had a decisively whiny tone to it, KT reached down, almost hanging off the side of her horse and reached into a bush that was on the side of the trail. She threw something over her shoulder at Dean, Dean caught it easily and opened his hand, he found several blackberries there. Dean shrugged and started popping them into his mouth content for the time being. They made the rest of the trip to the creek in companionable silence. When they reached a post with bailing twine tied around it KT stopped. She deftly swung her right leg over the side of the horse and dropped down out of the saddle, she made sure to land only with her left leg. She tied Apollo’s reigns to the post and moved over to Dean,

“ _Alright Dean swing your leg over and drop down onto the ground, don’t keep your other foot in the stirrup or you will end up on your ass, and be careful your legs may be a bit jello-ey_.”

Dean rolled his eyes at KTs mother henning and started to lift his leg to swing it over the saddle, which he soon found was harder then she had made it look, after a few failed attempts he finally managed to hang off the side of the horse, when he dropped down his knees momentarily buckled, it was only the grip on the saddle that kept him upright. KT took the horse and moved him towards a post,

“ _Dean go help your brother off his horse, lord knows he was so tense during that ride he probably will need someone to catch him_.”

Dean walked over to Sam,

“ _Alright dude time to hop off_.”

Dean watched as Sam stiffly tried to swing his leg over the horse, and then slowly drop himself down to the ground. Dean sent up a silent prayer that he didn’t look as dorky as Sam did making his descent. KT came over and took the horse from Dean and led him over to the post, when all three horses were secure and had access to grass and water KT went over to Apollo, she ran her hand through his mane, Apollo snorted and hooked his head over her shoulder, KT raised her arms up and hugged the horses neck, KT let go and turned to walk away but she stopped when Apollo started pawing at the ground, she turned back towards him,

“ _Sorry, almost forgot_.”

KT leaned forward and kissed Apollo’s nose, the horse stopped pawing and she walked back towards the boys. Dean had a smirk on his face,

“ _I’m pretty sure you showed that horse more affection then I’ve seen you show anyone ever_.”

“ _Shut it Dean, he gets mad if he doesn’t get his hug and kiss_.”

Dean snorted, KT raised an eyebrow,

“ _I’m not kidding Dean.”_

 _“That is one of the weirdest things I’ve ever heard_.”

KT shrugged,

“ _I also taught him how to fist bump, well hoof bump, you get bored sometimes on picnic rides_.”

As KT finished speaking she walked the men into a clearing that the creek made a wide U shape around. A lone picnic table sat in the small area surrounded on three sides by the babbling water. The three hunters sat down and KT pulled several sandwiches, chips and bottles of water out of a bag she was carrying. They tucked into their lunch, it was a while before anyone spoke. Sam looked around at the clearing lost in the rhythmic sounds of the creek,

“ _I’m not sure how you could get bored out here_.”

KT chuckled,

“ _Usually the people who wanted picnic trail rides were either families, or couples on a romantic date, they don’t exactly want the guide hanging around, I spent most of the time eating my lunch with the horses and then teaching them to do certain things until everyone was done doing what ever they did over here_.”

Dean gave a dirty smirk,

“ _I can appreciate that_.”

KT threw a balled up napkin at him,

“ _Don’t be gross_.”

The three hunters finished their lunches and sat around for a while taking in the scenery, after a while KT stood up and started packing up their lunch,

“ _Alright we better start heading back_.”

Sam and Dean stood up from where they had been sitting and simultaneously groaned, Dean was the first to speak,

“ _Oh my god my legs and my ass are killing me_.”

Sam didn’t say anything but he was rubbing at the back of his thigh. KT laughed,

“ _Yeah, horseback riding is hard work_.”

She pulled an apple out of her bag and walked over to the creek to dip the apple in the water, even on this warm day the water was ice cold. As they headed back towards the horses KT got out a pocketknife and started cutting slices off the apple and eating them as they walked. When they got up to the horses she cut each one of them a slice. When the apple was gone KT led Sam’s horse over to a tree stump,

“ _Alright Sam, climb up on the stump and hop on_.”

Sam moved slowly but he managed to complete the task KT was asking him to. When he seemed situated KT went and completed the same action with Dean. Once the three of them were situated KT began leading them out of the woods they were in.

            By the time they made it back to the barn Sam and Dean could barley sit still they were both groaning and shifting around. KT dropped off the side of her horse, she helped the men off their horses and walked the horses back to the barn. The men were moving much slower then they had when they arrived. Once the three horses saddles were taken off and each one was given a good brush down KT gave Apollo one last kiss to the nose and she joined the men outside. She noticed they were both slumped against the stonewall, she tried to hide her smile but was unsuccessful,

“ _Come on, let’s go home. That is if you two old men can make it to the car_.”

Dean opened his mouth looking like he was going to protest, he paused, closed his mouth, and then slowly replied,

“ _You know what, I’m too tired to argue. I just want to go home, get on the couch and not move for the rest of the day_.”

The three hunters made their way to the impala, as they pulled out of the farm KT leaned forward,

“ _Come on admit it, you had a good time_.”

Neither man answered her, Dean turned on the radio, the local classic rock station blasting through the speakers. While they might not admit it to the smug woman in the backseat she wasn’t wrong, the Winchester’s had enjoyed themselves, maybe horses weren’t so scary after all.

**Summer**

            Sam was sitting in the library going through some new books he had brought home from the library. KT walked in and stood awkwardly in the doorway,

“ _Hey Sam, do you know where the stuff that was in my apartments junk closet is_?”

Sam looked up from the book he was currently looking through,

“ _Uh, I think it all ended up in the attic.”_

 _“Oh…hey Sam…can you help me get up into the attic_?”

Sam closed the book and stood up,

“ _Yeah sure_.”

Sam was curious why KT needed to get into the attic but he could tell she wasn’t ready to tell him. He walked up to the trap in the ceiling and pulled it down so a narrow staircase appeared. Sam helped KT up the stairs and into the small attic, he stood near the entrance watching as KT started searching through different boxes, taking some things out and placing them in an empty box she had found. Eventually she turned to Sam,

“ _Ok, I’m done, can you take this box down stairs for me and put it in my room_?”

Sam nodded, he grabbed the box and quickly brought it downstairs, he came back up and helped KT down the stairs. He brought the box into KTs room and left it on the table.

            A few days later Dean walked in from his morning job, he ran a hand across his forehead.

“ _Good lord it’s not even eight in the morning and it’s already 80 degrees_.”

He grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and headed to sit in front of the air conditioner in the living room, he found Sam already planted in front of it, his hair pulled up in a top knot. Dean let out a snort of a laugh, Sam rolled his eyes,

“ _Don’t start with me, it is way too hot_.”

Dean’s eyes shined with mirth but he didn’t say anything. Eventually KT joined the two men on the couch, her hair was in her normal French braid but it was folded up in a large clip pinned to her head.

“ _Either of you have plans this weekend_?”

Sam and Dean exchanged a look over KTs head, she had never asked a question like that, Dean finally answered her,

“ _Not that I can think of, no_.”

KT nodded,

“ _Good, I need you both to pack an overnight bag, a sleeping bag, a swim suite and anything else you may need for a one night camping trip, except the tent, I have that covered_.”

Now the brothers were having an even more frantic conversation above her head, this was so unlike KT. Eventually Dean answered her,

“ _Sure thing, is there any particular reason we’re going camping this weekend_?”

KT gave a shy smile,

“ _There is, but it will make more sense if I explain there_.”

KT got up and walked down that hallway to the library, Sam raised his eyebrow at Dean who just shrugged, they would just have to wait and see.

            Two days later the impala was packed with all the camping essentials. KT gave Dean directions to a hiking entrance into the woods, they parked Baby and headed down a trail, Bowie even had a small backpack that was made for dogs on his back. After about half an hour of hiking they stopped at a small clearing that was bordered by a clear creek, KT put her backpack down,

“ _We set up camp here_.”

Sam looked at the clear deep water and nodded. Sam and Dean made quick work of setting up the tent and unpacking their campsite, while KT and Bowie went off to collect firewood. Once the camp was fully set up all three hunters were pouring sweat, the July weather getting the best of them. KT had a bandana tied on top of her head, which she frequently took off to wipe the sweat off her face with. Sam was having an internal argument with himself if whether asking KT if she had an extra bandana would be worth Dean’s excessive mocking. He was just about to ask KT when she disappeared into the tent, she reemerged several moments later wearing a swim suit,

“ _Come on boys it’s cooling off time_.”

KT ran over to the creek and did a swan dive into the deep water, when she didn’t pop up to the surface right away Dean walked over to peer into the water. As he reached the waters edge KT popped up and sent a wave of water at Dean who started cursing a blue streak.

“ _What the hell KT?”_

_“Your face, oh man, your surprised face.”_

_“It wasn’t that funny_.”

KT and Dean were startled out of their argument by Sam doing a canon ball into the water, he came up moments later,

“ _How is this water still so cold?!”_

 _“We’re in the valley_.”

KT turned her attention back to Dean,

“ _Come on Dean get changed, are you afraid you’re going to melt or something_?”

Dean huffed and stomped off to the tent to change his cloths, he returned soon after and entered the creek with an impressive canon ball. Now that all three hunters were in the water Bowie decided it must be the fun place to be and he leapt into the creek, narrowly missing landing on KTs head if not for Sam pulling her out of the way. Bowie momentarily started to sink and his eyes bugged out of his head, once his natural doggy paddle instincts kicked in he calmed down and began to motor around the humans in the water. Sam laughed as the dog splashed in a circle around him simultaneously trying to lick his face and drink the water.

As it got later in the afternoon and the sun was no longer directly overhead the water went from refreshingly cold to teeth chattering cold. The three hunters got out of the water and changed into dry cloths. Dean got started on making a fire, while Sam and KT started getting items out of the army green cooler. They had a dinner of baked beans and hot dogs cooked over the campfire. As they sat around the fire Dean began to rummage through a bag, he let out a satisfied sound as he pulled out marshmallows, gram crackers and chocolate. KT was up and ripping open the bag of marshmallows in seconds, Sam raised an eyebrow,

“ _Woh there, a little eager much_.”

Two sets of incredulous eyes turned on him, KT broke a gram cracker in half and placed some chocolate on it,

“ _S’mores Sam, s’mores_ ”

Both Dean and KT stuck their marshmallow covered sticks into the fire, their eyes shinning with glee, Sam made his way over to the marshmallows in a much more subdued manor then KT had. KT and Sam were each in the middle of eating their second s’more when Sam finally finished making his first, he tentatively took a bite, as the delicious mixture touched his taste buds he let out a surprised moan. Dean snickered,

“ _You and the s’more need a room Sammy_?”

Sam couldn’t come up with a snarky reply because that would mean he would have to top eating the marshmallowy goodness and he was just not willing to do that. After the hunters each ate their fill it was starting to get dark, KT got up and walked over to the tent, she pulled a long case out of her bag and walked between the tent and the creek. She took a telescope out of the bag and started setting it up, Sam and Dean got up and walked over, KT was peering into the lens of the telescope, she straightened up,

“ _Look, the first thing to show up in the night sky is Jupiter you can see it shining brightly_.”

Sam leaned down and looked into the lens, he had never seen Jupiter so clearly before. Dean took a turn looking into the viewfinder. KT looked up into the sky, which had become littered with stars. KT pointed to the east,

“ _That’s Regulus the brightest star in the Leo constellation_ ”

She moved her hand to something brightly glowing red,

“ _There’s Mars_.”

Sam looked up and pointed to the left of Mars,

“ _Is that Anteres_?”

KT smiled and nodded,

“ _Yes, that would be the heart of Scorpios, and directly above that you can see Saturn_.”

They each took turns looking into the telescope for a while, eventually they all settled on their backs on the grass staring up at the night sky. Sam turned his head towards KT,

“ _Is this why you took us on a camping trip_?”

KT nodded,

“ _Roxbury is the darkest place in New York, and the valley in July it’s even darker then normal, it makes it the best place to see the stars_.”

Sam turned his gaze back to the sky, after a moment he spoke again,

“ _Thank you_.”

The three hunters spent most of the evening and the early morning hours lying on their backs gazing at the dazzling starry sky above.

 

**Fall**

 

            Dean walked in the door holding an apple fritter, as he closed the door he bit excitedly into it. When he walked into the kitchen and saw KT and Sam sitting at the table he startled to babble, mouth still full of fritter,

“ _Guy’s there’s something going on in town, there are vendors everywhere and some nice lady gave me apple fritters and I’ve already eaten so many but I can’t stop they’re delicious_.”

Sam’s eyes widened, he stood up and took the rest of the fritter out of his brother’s hand,

“ _Alright, lets take a break from all this sugar before your heart explodes.”_

 _“Heyyyy that’s mine, the lady in the red hat gave it to me and well she may have told me to share but they were too good_.”

KT sat up straighter,

“ _Wait a minute, was the lady in the red hat’s name Linda_?”

Dean tilted his head to the side thinking about it,

“ _Yeah that might have been her name_.”

KT threw the spoon from her coffee at Dean he managed to dodge it,

“ _You ate a fritter that Linda made for me, you are going to pay for that_!”

KT took the spoon out of Sam’s coffee and managed to hit Dean in the head with it. Dean rubbed at the spot where the spoon had hit him, Sam let out a small laugh but then furrowed his brow,

“ _Uh, KT, why are throwing the silverware at Dean.”_

_“Because he ate my fritter.”_

_“He eats food designated to us all the time, he’s practically a bottomless pit. It usually doesn’t bother you that much_.”

KT crossed her arms and glared at Dean,

“ _That’s with normal food, these are Linda’s apple fritters, they are so good I’m a little worried Linda may have sold her soul for her cooking abilities, and you can never get them because she only makes them during the Apple Festival_.”

KTs eyes suddenly widened,

“ _Today’s the Apple Festival_!”

KT grabbed her leather jacket and started heading towards the door, when neither man followed her she came back into the kitchen.

“ _Come on both of you, today’s the Apple Festival_.“

When neither man moved KT focused on Dean,

“ _Lot’s more fritters, and apple pie_.”

Dean shot past KT hurrying towards the car, KT turned and followed him. Sam sighed and stood up placing his coffee cup in the sink, he turned to Bowie who had quietly watched the human antics from safely under the table,

“ _They’re going to be the death of me Bowie_.”

Bowie let out a soft woof. The sound of the impala rumbling to life and then backing down the driveway could be heard, Sam’s eyes widened as he hurried towards the door,

“ _Hey wait for me_!”

            By the time they found a parking space in the crowded small town Dean and KT were practically crawling out of their skin. Once Dean had run off and gotten both of them two apple fritters Sam finally asked KT what had been on his mind,

“ _So what’s with all this_?”

KT smiled,

“ _Small town festival, starts apple season off. There are a tone of vendors with apple related products as well as craft vendors, usually pony rides and face painting for the kids_.”

“ _So if this Linda person knows you, does that mean you come every year?”_

 _“Of course, I’m serious those apple fritters, I dream about them, come on and try on_.”

KT led Sam over to a smiling woman standing in front of a portable fryer, the woman looked up and smiled,

“ _KT we were wondering if we were ever going to see you or your, um, friends, outside of the clinic_.”

KT gave a small smirk,

“ _So your solution was to lure me out with fritters_.”

Linda chuckled,

“ _I’m surprised they made it to you with the rate that boy was sucking those down.”_

_“Yeah, half of one made it to the house.”_

_“I sent him with eight_.”

Sam grimaced,

“ _We really need to track him down before he goes into a sugar coma_.”

Linda’s eyes moved from KT and moved up, and up and up until they reached Sam.

“ _So you’re one of the gentlemen who lives with KT_.”

Sam was startled by the woman’s forwardness.

“ _Uh, yeah, hi, I’m Sam_.”

Sam stuck his hand out, Linda took it and shook it,

“I’m _Linda. It’s nice to finally meet you Sam_.”

Sam gave KT a quick side-glance, she rolled her eyes, she reached over and snagged two fritters from the plate Linda was putting them on, she handed one to Sam and spoke,

“ _Well it was great catching up Linda but Sam and I really need to go find Dean before he hurts himself_.”

KT started dragging Sam down the sidewalk, Linda called out towards them,

“ _Well alright, but come on back when you find him I’d love to chat more_.”

Sam took a bite of the fritter in his hand,

“ _Wow this is amazing.”_

 _“Now you know why I’m always on the lookout for hellhounds, no telling when her ten years are up_.”

“ _What did she mean when she said she had heard a lot about me_?”

KT rolled her eyes,

“ _Don’t freak out Sam it’s not like I’ve been wandering around talking about you guys to everyone. Like I said before, small town, don’t you think people started talking the second I showed up back in town after going off the grid for six months, plus I brought back two men who I promptly shacked up with. I’m really surprised half the town hasn’t shown up on our doorstep with housewarming casseroles to try and learn more. And Linda, she’s the biggest gossip, tell her something and the whole town will know within the hour_ ”

Sam mulled all that over and then grinned,

“ _Oh man, can you imagine what they think about our house?”_

 _“Sam what ever you’re thinking stop_.”

Sam cackled and ran off in the direction they had last seen Dean. KT thought about following him but her knee took the opportunity to remind her that she was not up for chasing a moose sized man across a festival. She put her free time to good use and went to check out the craft tables. KT purchased a needlepoint pattern and a small dog made out of felt. KT figured she would try and fit one more fritter in before she finally tried to hunt down the boys. She walked up to Linda,

“ _Hey Linda, got one more fritter for me_?”

Linda smiled,

“ _Always._ ”

Linda peered around KT but frowned,

“ _Where are those two gentlemen of yours_?”

KT rolled her eyes,

“ _They aren’t mine Linda don’t be getting any weird ideas in that head of yours. We’re great friends and we live in a house together, and they work with me at the clinic because I needed some extra hands_.”

Linda frowned,

“ _Are you sure that’s it?”_

 _“Yes Linda I’m sure. They’re my best friends, they’ve helped me out more then I could possibly describe but none of that stuff you’re thinking about is going on_.”

Linda pouted,

“ _Shame_ ”

KT shook her head, she jumped when an arm suddenly snaked around her waste. Dean sidled up to her, hand on her hip and kissed her temple,

“ _Hey sweetheart I lost you in the crowd_.”

KT frowned confused at Dean’s actions,

“ _You feeling alright Dean did you hit your head_?”

Dean shook his head and booped KT on the nose, she scrunched up her nose at the touch,

“ _You’re so silly.”_

 _“Dean what the f_ -“

KT was cut off by a second arm going around her waste on the opposite side, Sam planted a kiss to her cheek,

“ _Hey honeybee I found Dean but then I lost you_.”

KTs eyes were so wide it was a miracle they hadn’t fallen out of her head. She was ready to start shouting ‘ _Christo_ ’ and seeing black eyes when she caught the gleam in Sam’s eyes and his previous exit from her presence came back to mind. She fixed him with a look that screamed, ‘ _I am going to kill both of you when we leave here_.’ Dean turned his attention to Linda who was grinning from ear to ear,

“ _You’ll have to excuse our rudeness you know our honeybee she can be quite distracting_.”

“ _Oh, oh it’s no problem at all, here have another fritter_.”

Dean smiled at Linda and took the fried apple, he took a bite and made a pleased noise, he held the fritter up in front of KTs face,

 _“Sweetheart you have to have some of this_.”

KT moved her face back but she couldn’t move too far away with both men’s arms around her waste.

“ _Uh, no thanks Dean I just had one.”_

_“Oh come on this one is all hot and fresh from the fryer, nothing but the best for my little snook-“_

_“Ok!_ ”

KT leaned forward and bit from the proffered fritter, she didn’t know what knew and horrible nickname Dean was about to use but she wasn’t going to let him finish that sentence. She turned back to Linda as she worked her arms behind the boys.

“ _Alright, it really was great catching up Linda but we really need to be going_.”

Sam pouted at KT, puppy dog eyes out in full force,

“ _Aw but honeybee we wanted to talk to more of your friends_.”

KT had finally gotten both her arms securely behind each boy and she grabbed each one by the kidney and squeezed,

“ _Sorry Sam but we really need to go…now_.”

As she continued to squeeze the boy’s organs Sam let out a slight squeak,

“ _Goodbye Linda it was nice meeting you_.”

KT led the boys away by their kidneys. As they got out of sight of Linda KT broke out of the boys grip, she turned on them clearly pissed off,

“ _What the hell is wrong with you?_!”

The Winchester’s doubled over into a fit of giggles, Dean was the first to straighten up,

“ _Sam told me about the nosy towns people and it was just too good to pass up, I mean I didn’t know a person could turn such a deep shade of red but look at you, you’re practically maroon_.”

KT practically growled,

“ _You do know that the entire town is going to be talking about this within the hour_.”

Dean grinned ear to ear,

“ _That was the plan.”_

_“Why?!”_

_“Because now we can see that look on your face whenever we run into someone you know. It’s like the practical joke that keeps on giving_.”

KT threw up her hands and stormed off towards the impala. By the time the boys caught up to her she was already in the backseat glaring daggers at the back of their skulls. Every once in a while one of the boys would start laughing, which would set off the other one and they would fall into a fit of giggles. KT continued to glower, they pulled into the driveway of their house and Dean turned around noting the scowl on KTs face,

“ _Come on KT don’t be that way, you have to admit it was a little funny_.”

KT raised an eyebrow, her face went from a scowl to a smirk, Dean grinned, he figured he had finally won her over.

“ _You’re right Dean, small gossipy town, everyone thinking we’re in a strange relationship, it’s incredibly funny_.”

She opened the door and got out of the car, right before she slammed the door she got one last thought in.

“ _It sure will be funny when neither of you will ever be able to get a date in this town_.”

KT closed the door and laughed the whole way to the front door, Dean and Sam exchanged looks, they may have made a bad decision.

**Winter**

            It was a little past 4am Dean opened the front door to head out to the impala, the gust of wind that hit him in the face almost knocked him back into the house. Even under all the layers he was wearing he was still shivering in his boots. Dean pulled the scarf over his mouth and thought back to a few weeks before and thanked whatever god was listening that he let KT drag him and Sam the hour it took to get to the mall. That day he had come back from his job at about 7:15am and he was shivering, it was only early November and he had on four layers and his warmest army surplus jacket, when he opened the door KT was walking through the kitchen and took one look at him and rolled her eyes,

“ _That’s what you wore when you went out at the ass crack of dawn_?”

Dean looked down at his cloths confused,

“ _Yeah, and?”_

 _“Are those your warmest cloths_?”

Dean nodded, KT snorted and walked down the hallway, she returned a small while later dressed in a navy blue sweater and jeans, there was a blue plaid infinity scarf around her neck, she knocked on Sam’s bedroom door as she made her way down the hallway,

“ _Get a move on Sam we’re going shopping today_.”

Sam emerged a moment later a look of confusion on his face,

“ _What are we doing?”_

 _“Sam, show me your warmest jacket_.”

Sam frowned but pulled out his thick green jacket, KT nodded,

“ _Figured as much, come on both of you it’s time we ventured to the mall_.”

Dean spluttered,

“ _Oh no, no, I do not go to the mall_.”

KT put her hands on her hips,

“ _Dean, how cold were you today?”_

_“Pretty cold.”_

_“Uh huh, and it’s early November, it’s only going to get colder, trust me, there will be days the snow will be taller then me, the valley we’re in makes it unnaturally cold_.”

Dean frowned,

“ _We’ve been in cold places before.”_

 _“I’m sure you have, but you haven’t lived in one long term. Didn’t you wonder why when you moved my stuff in here I had two full drawers of scarves_?”

Dean gave a small noncommittal shrug, KT smirked,

“ _It’s because I don’t want to lose my nose to frostbite, and so I can breath air in without my lungs seizing up. Trust me you both need this shopping trip_.”

Sam shrugged and pulled on his jacket, KT went and grabbed her coat, which Dean noted was one of those north face jackets that looks slightly shiny. Sam and KT both headed towards the door, KT turned and fixed Dean with a stare, after a moment Dean let out a long suffering sigh and followed them out the door.

            Dean shook his head as he recalled that memory, KT had outfitted them with long underwear, thick warm sweaters, the jackets of the puffy variety, and numerous warm hats, scarves and gloves. As Dean hustled to the impala, begging Baby to warm up quick he was immensely grateful for the warm cloths, but even all the warm layers he was currently wearing couldn’t keep him warm on this frigid December day. Dean glanced into the yard as he pulled out onto the road, there was at least six inches of snow on the ground and there was a snowman in the backyard that Sam and KT had made the other day, Dean was pretty sure the twigs around it’s mouth were supposed to be fangs.

            When Dean got back into the impala after he had made breakfast for everyone at the hotel he was still freezing. Blasting the heat seemed to barley make a dent in the bone chilling cold, he practically ran from the car into the house and headed straight for the coffee pot, his hands were shaking from the cold as he lifted the pot he quickly slammed it back down and yelled down the hall,

“ _Where the hell is all the coffee_!”

Sam poked his head out of the library,

“ _Oh, sorry, I took the last cup and forgot to make a new pot.”_

 _“Damn it Sam, I’m freezing my ass off here_!”

Sam rolled his eyes and headed towards the kitchen,

“ _Calm down man it will take like five minutes for a new pot to brew_.”

Dean crossed his arms,

“ _Well that doesn’t help me now, now does it?”_

 _“Dean could you be anymore dramatic right now_?”

Dean sat down at the kitchen table not bothering to take off his outer layers, KT walked into the room and started to laugh,

“ _Gees Dean who pissed in your cheerios_?”

Dean glared up at the laughing woman,

“ _What is wrong with this place?! It’s negative twenty today, negative twenty! I have to walk around outside with a scarf wrapped around my face to keep my lungs from freezing into unusable husks. We live in a place where air hurts my face, why do we live where air hurts?!_ ”

Sam set a cup of coffee in front of Dean,

“ _Gees Dean if you were so miserable you could have just stayed at the hotel, I hear they have a room that’s themed just for you_.”

Dean leveled his brother with a stare,

“ _Oh yeah, and which room would that be_?”

Sam grinned,

“ _The creampuff room of course_ ”

Dean was out of his seat in a flash but Sam had anticipated that and took off towards the door. Sam made it about halfway through the yard before Dean tackled him to the ground. Dean pushed Sam’s face down into the snow, Sam went limp, Dean paused a little worried he’d knocked out his brother, which gave Sam the chance he needed to flip over and shove a handful of snow into Dean’s face. Dean fell backwards and Sam leapt forward, the two of them started to roll in the snow until they hit something solid and suddenly they both were being showered in snow. The brother’s stopped fighting, confused what had just happened, they didn’t stay confused for long as they heard an indignant cry from a few yards away,

“ _My snowman_!”

Both boys scrambled into a sitting position, Dean was the first to start sputtering out an apology,

“ _Sorry KT we did_ -“

The apology was stopped short when Dean was hit in the face with a snowball. Sam stared to laugh at the stunned expression on his brother’s face, but his laughter was soon stopped when he too was hit with a snowball in the face. KT stood about ten feet away doubled over laughing. Dean gave Sam a side-glance and Sam imperceptibly nodded, Dean silently counted to three and simultaneously the boys picked up snow and quickly formed snowballs that they threw at KT, as both brothers landed their hits KT straightened up,

“ _Oh it’s on now_.”

As KT bent down to get more snow the brothers charged her, both letting out a war cry as the ran towards her. A little while later the three hunters trudged inside, all three of them were soaked to the bone, they each went to their separate rooms to change into dry cloths. When the boys returned to the kitchen they found KT standing in front of the stove, stirring something in a pot. Bowie who was smarter then his human companions had stayed inside during the impromptu snowball fight was curled at KTs feet. Dean froze,

“ _You don’t cook, please don’t burn our house down_.”

The boys couldn’t see her face but they could hear the grin in her voice,

 _“I don’t cook, but hot chocolate doesn’t count_.”

Sam’s ears perked up,

“ _Hot chocolate_?”

KT laughed as she reached for the mugs on the shelf,

“ _Yes Sam, hot chocolate is a requirement after a snowball fight_.”

KT poured the hot chocolate into three mugs she had laid out, Dean reached out to grab one of the mugs but KT smacked his hand with the wooden spoon she had been using to stir the drink. Dean pulled his hand back and rubbed it,

“ _Hey! What was that about?”_

 _“Have you never had hot chocolate before? It’s not ready yet_.”

KT reached into another cabinet and pulled out tiny marshmallows dropping three into each cup, she held up a finger in warning to the brothers not to touch the cups as she walked to the refrigerator. She pulled out the can of whipped cream and added a swirl into each cup. As she placed the can back in the fridge she gave a nod, each boy scrambled to grab a mug. The three hunters sat at the kitchen table sipping there hot chocolate and laughing over the morning antics. As Dean savored the chocolate in his mug he figured maybe freezing his ass off every once in a while was worth it for mornings like these.


End file.
